Compressor having discharge mufflers

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a compressor having discharge mufflers for reducing the noise generated due to the discharge of a refrigerant. The compressor includes a compression chamber installed in a cylinder block in an airtight container; a discharge pipe installed in the airtight container for discharging a refrigerant compressed in the compressor to the outside of the airtight container; a first discharge muffler installed between the compression chamber and the discharge pipe, and provided with an inner space divided into a first space directly communicated with the compression chamber and a second space directly communicated with the discharge pipe; and a second discharge muffler provided with an inner space communicated with the first and second spaces respectively through separate communication channels.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-73548, filed Sep. 14, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a compressor, and more particularly, to a compressor having a plurality of discharge mufflers for reducing noise generated due to the discharge of a refrigerant.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a compressor employed by a refrigerating cycle of a refrigerator or an air conditioner comprises an airtight container for forming the external appearance thereof, a compressing unit installed in the airtight container for compressing a refrigerant, a driving unit installed in the airtight container for providing compression power due to the compression of the refrigerant, a suction pipe installed at one side of the airtight container for guiding an external refrigerant to the inside of the airtight container, and a discharge pipe installed at the other side of the airtight container for discharging the refrigerant compressed by the compressing unit to the outside of the airtight container.

The compressing unit is installed in the lower portion of the airtight container, and includes a cylinder block in which a compression chamber is formed so that the refrigerant in the compression chamber is compressed, a piston reciprocating in the compression chamber for compressing the refrigerant in the compression chamber, a cylinder head connected to one side of the cylinder block for hermetically sealing the compression chamber and provided with a refrigerant discharge chamber and a refrigerant suction chamber which are divided from each other, and a valve device formed between the cylinder block and the cylinder head for intermitting the flow of the refrigerant sucked from the refrigerant suction chamber to the compression chamber or discharged from the compression chamber to the refrigerant discharge chamber.

Through the above constitution, when the driving unit is driven, the piston rectilinearly reciprocates in the compression chamber. Then, the refrigerant outside the airtight container is introduced from the suction pipe to the refrigerant suction chamber of the cylinder head, is transmitted to the compression chamber so that the refrigerant is compressed in the compression chamber, and the refrigerant compressed in the compression chamber is discharged to the refrigerant discharge chamber of the cylinder head, and is discharged to the outside of the airtight container through the discharge pipe. The above procedure is repeated, thus performing the compression of the refrigerant using the compressor.

Discharge mufflers for reducing noise generated from the refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant discharge chamber are installed on a channel for connecting the refrigerant discharge chamber and the discharge pipe. The discharge mufflers include a first discharge muffler forming a designated expansion space directly communicated with the refrigerant discharge chamber and the discharge pipe, and a second discharge muffler forming a Helmholtz's resonance space connected to the expansion space of the first discharge muffler through a communication channel.

Accordingly, the refrigerant flowing from the refrigerant discharge chamber to the discharge pipe through the first discharge muffler is diffused in the expansion space of the first discharge muffler, and is simultaneously discharged to the outside of the airtight container under the condition that pulsating noise of the refrigerant is reduced by the noise offset operation of the second discharge muffler forming the Helmholtz's resonance space.

The compressor having the above conventional discharge mufflers has a single expansion space formed by the first discharge muffler, thereby causing a difficulty in repeatedly diffusing the refrigerant through the discharge mufflers, thus being incapable of greatly reducing the pulsating noise of the discharged refrigerant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, one aspect of the invention is to provide a compressor having discharge mufflers for reducing noise generated due to the discharge of a refrigerant.

In accordance with one aspect, the present invention provides a compressor having discharge mufflers comprising: a compression chamber installed in a cylinder block in an airtight container; a discharge pipe installed in the airtight container for discharging a refrigerant compressed in the compressor to the outside of the airtight container; a first discharge muffler installed between the compression chamber and the discharge pipe, and provided with an inner space divided into a first space directly communicated with the compression chamber and a second space directly communicated with the discharge pipe; and a second discharge muffler provided with an inner space communicated with the first and second spaces respectively through separate communication channels.

Preferably, the first and second mufflers are installed in the cylinder block, and the communication channels are formed in the cylinder block.

More preferably, the communication channels are formed by drilling the cylinder block.

Preferably, a partition member for dividing the inner space of the first discharge muffler into the first and second spaces is provided in the first discharge muffler, and the first and second spaces are divided by the partition member under the condition that the first and second spaces are isolated from each other and hermetically sealed.

Further, preferably, a partition member for dividing the inner space of the first discharge muffler into the first and second spaces is provided in the first discharge muffler, and the first and second spaces are divided by the partition member under the condition that the first and second spaces are communicated with each other.

Preferably, the first discharge muffler includes a depressed cavity formed in the cylinder block, a cover for closing the depressed cavity, and the partition member installed in the depressed cavity for dividing the inner space of the first discharge muffler into the first and second spaces, and a communication portion for communicating the first and second spaces is installed between the partition member and the cover.

Further preferably, the first discharge muffler includes a depressed cavity formed in the cylinder block, a cover for closing the depressed cavity, and a partition member installed in the depressed cavity for dividing the inner space of the first discharge muffler into the first and second spaces, and the partition member is integrally formed with the cylinder block by cast iron.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating the overall structure of a hermetic compressor in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 2, illustrating the structures of discharge mufflers in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 3, illustrating the flow of a refrigerant;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 2, illustrating the structures of discharge mufflers in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line D-D of FIG. 5, illustrating the flow of a refrigerant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the annexed drawings.

A compressor of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises an airtight container 1 formed by the connection of an upper container 1 a and a lower container 1 b, a compressing unit 10 prepared in the airtight container 1 for compressing a refrigerant, a driving unit 20 for providing compression power due to the compression of the refrigerant, a suction pipe 2 installed at one side of the airtight container 1 for guiding an external refrigerant to the inside of the airtight container 1, and a discharge pipe 3 installed at the other side of the airtight container 1 for discharging the refrigerant compressed by the compressing unit 10 to the outside of the airtight container 1.

The compressing unit 10 includes a cylinder block 11 in which a compression chamber 11 a is formed so that the refrigerant in the compression chamber 11 a is compressed, a piston 12 rectilinearly reciprocating in the compression chamber 11 a for compressing the refrigerant, a cylinder head 13 connected to one side of the cylinder block 11 for hermetically sealing the compression chamber 11 a and provided with a refrigerant suction pipe 13 a and a refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b, which are divided from each other, and a valve device 14 formed between the cylinder block 11 and the cylinder head 13 for intermitting the flow of the refrigerant sucked from the refrigerant suction chamber 13 a to the compression chamber 11 a or discharged from the compression chamber 11 a to the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b.

The driving unit 20 provides driving force for reciprocating the piston 12 in the compression chamber 11 a, and includes a stator 21 fixed in the airtight container 1 and a rotor 22 installed in the stator 21 such that the rotor 22 is separated from the inner wall of the stator 21 and electromagnetically interacting with the stator 21. A rotary shaft 23 is installed in the center of the rotor 22 so that the rotary shaft 23 is rotated together with the rotation of the rotor 22, and an eccentric unit 24 eccentrically rotated and a connecting rod 25 for converting the eccentric rotation of the eccentric unit 24 to the rectilinear movement are installed on the lower portion of the rotary shaft 23. Here, one end of the connecting rod 25 is connected to the eccentric unit 24 such that the end can be rotated, and the other end of the connecting rod 25 is installed in the piston 12 such that the end can be rotated and rectilinearly moved. Non-described reference numeral 26 represents a support bearing installed above the cylinder block 11 for supporting the rotations of the rotary shaft 23 and the rotor 22.

In the compressor having the above configuration, when the rotary shaft 23 is rotated together with the rotation of the rotor 22 by the electrical interaction between the stator 21 and the rotor 22 due to the application of power, the piston 22 connected to the eccentric unit 24 by the connecting rod 25 rectilinearly reciprocates in the compression chamber 11 a. Thereby, the refrigerant outside the airtight container 1 is introduced from the suction pipe 2 to the refrigerant suction chamber 13 a of the cylinder head 13, and is transmitted to the compression chamber 11 a so that the refrigerant is compressed in the compression chamber 11 a. The refrigerant compressed in the compression chamber 11 a is discharged to the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b of the cylinder head 13, and is then discharged to the outside of the airtight container 1 through the discharge pipe 3. The above procedure is repeated, thus performing the compression of the refrigerant using the compressor.

A suction muffler 30 connecting the refrigerant suction chamber 13 a and the suction pipe 2 for reducing noise generated due to the flow of the refrigerant sucked from the suction pipe 2 to the compression chamber 11 a is installed above the cylinder head 13. Discharge mufflers 40 and 50 for reducing noise generated due to the flow of the refrigerant discharged from the compression chamber 11 a to the discharge pipe 3 are installed in the lower portion of the cylinder block 11.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the discharge mufflers 40 and 50 include a first discharge muffler 40 installed between the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b of the cylinder head 13 and the discharge pipe 3 and provided with an inner space divided into a first space 61 directly communicated with the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b and a second space 62 directly communicated with the discharge pipe 3, and a second discharge muffler 50 provided with an inner space 70 individually connected to the first and second spaces 61 and 62 of the first discharge muffler 40 by first and second communication channels 81 and 82. Through the above structures of the first and second discharge mufflers 40 and 50, the refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b sequentially passes through the first space 61 formed in the first discharge muffler 40, the inner space 70 of the second discharge muffler 50, and the second space 62 formed in the first discharge muffler 40 so that the refrigerant is diffused in each of the spaces 61, 70 and 62. Thereby, noise generated from the discharged refrigerant is greatly reduced.

That is, the refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b is introduced into the first space 61 of the first discharge muffler 40 so that the refrigerant is diffused in the first space 61 and the noise of the refrigerant is first reduced, is then introduced into the inner space 70 of the second discharge muffler 50 through the first communication channel 81 so that the refrigerant is diffused in the inner space 70 and the noise of the refrigerant is secondarily reduced, is then introduced into the second space 62 of the first discharge muffler 40 through the second communication channel 82 so that the refrigerant is diffused in the second space 62 and the noise of the refrigerant is thirdly reduced, and is then discharged to the outside through the discharge pipe 3. The refrigerant, which is repeatedly diffused in the plural spaces 61, 70 and 62 through the divided structure of the first discharge muffler 40 and the communicating structures between the first and second discharge mufflers 40 and 50, can be discharged to the outside through the discharge pipe 3 under the condition that the pulsating noise of the refrigerant is greatly reduced.

Now, the structures of the discharge mufflers 40 and 50 will be described in more detail, as follows. The first and second discharge mufflers 40 and 50 installed at both sides of the lower portion of the cylinder block 11 respectively include depressed cavities 41 and 51 caved in the external surface of the lower portion of the cylinder block 11, and covers 42 and 52 for closing the depressed cavities 41 and 51. The depressed cavities 41 and 51 include a first depressed cavity 41 forming the first discharge muffler 40 and a second depressed cavity 51 forming the second discharge muffler 50, and the covers 42 and 52 include a first cover 42 for closing the first depressed cavity 41 and a second cover 52 for closing the second depressed cavity 51. The first and second covers 42 and 52 are respectively fixed to the first and second depressed cavities 41 and 51 through bolts 90. A connection channel 11 b for guiding the refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b to the inside of the first discharge muffler 40 is installed in the cylinder block 11 between the first depressed cavity 41 and the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b. The end of the discharge pipe 3 located in the airtight container 1 is connected to the first cover 42, and extended to the inner space of the first discharge muffler 40, and a partition member 43 for dividing the inner space of the first discharge muffler 40 into the first space 61 directly communicated with the connection channel 11 b and the second space 62 directly communicated with the discharge pipe 3. The partition member 43 divides the inner space of the first discharge muffler 40 into the first and second spaces 61 and 62 under the condition that the first and second spaces 61 and 62 are isolated from each other and hermetically sealed.

Here, the partition member 43 is integrally formed with the cylinder block 11 made by cast iron. Thereby, it is possible to eliminate troublesomeness generated when the partition member 43 is made of a separate member and is connected to the first depressed cavity 41. A first boss portion 43 a provided with a female screw hole formed therein is formed at the central area of the partition member 43 so that the bolt 90 is inserted into the first boss portion 43 a. Non-described reference numeral 53 is a cylindrical second boss portion provided with a female screw hole formed therein and installed in the second depressed cavity 51 so that the second cover 52 is fixed to the second depressed cavity 51 through the bolt 90.

The communication channels 81 and 82 include a first communication channel 81 installed in the cylinder block 11 between the first depressed cavity 41 at the first space 61 and the second depressed cavity 51 so that the first space 61 of the first discharge muffler 40 and the inner space 70 of the second discharge muffler 50 are communicated, and a second communication channel 82 installed in the cylinder block 11 between the first depressed cavity 41 at the second space 62 and the second depressed cavity 51 so that the second space 62 of the first discharge muffler 40 and the inner space 70 of the second discharge muffler 50 are communicated. Preferably, the first and second communication channels 81 and 82 are formed by directly drilling the cylinder block 11 so that separate pipes or tubes are not used to form the first and second communication channels 81 and 82.

Hereinafter, the operation and function of the hermetic compressor of the present invention will be described in detail.

When the rotary shaft 23 is rotated together with the rotation of the rotor 22 by the electrical interaction between the stator 21 and the rotor 22 due to the application of power, the piston 22 connected to the eccentric unit 24 by the connecting rod 25 rectilinearly reciprocates in the compression chamber 11a. Thereby, the refrigerant outside the airtight container 1 flows from the suction pipe 2 to the suction muffler 30 so that the noise of the refrigerant is slightly reduced, is introduced into the refrigerant suction chamber 13 a of the cylinder head 13, and is transmitted to the compression chamber 11 a so that the refrigerant is compressed in the compression chamber 11 a. The refrigerant compressed in the compression chamber 11 a is discharged to the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b of the cylinder head 13.

The refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b is introduced into the first space 61 of the first discharge muffler 40 so that the refrigerant is diffused in the first space 61 and the noise of the refrigerant is first reduced, is then introduced into the inner space 70 of the second discharge muffler 50 through the first communication channel 81 so that the refrigerant is diffused in the inner space 70 and the noise of the refrigerant is secondarily reduced, is then introduced into the second space 62 of the first discharge muffler 40 through the second communication channel 82 so that the refrigerant is diffused in the second space 62 and the noise of the refrigerant is thirdly reduced, and is then discharged to the outside through the discharge pipe 3. The refrigerant, which is repeatedly diffused in the plural spaces 61, 70 and 62 through the divided structure of the first discharge muffler 40 and the communicating structures between the first and second discharge mufflers 40 and 50, can be discharged to the outside through the discharge pipe 3 under the condition that the pulsating noise of the refrigerant is greatly reduced.

FIGS. 5 and. 6 illustrate discharge mufflers in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In the discharge mufflers 40 and 50 in accordance with another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a partition member 43′ installed in the first discharge muffler 40 divides the inner space of the first discharge muffler 40 into the first and second spaces 61 and 62 under the condition that the first and second spaces 61 and 62 are communicated with each other, and a communication portion 44 is formed between the inner surface of the first cover 42 and the end of the partition member 43′ at the first cover 42 so that the first and second spaces 61 and 62 are communicated with each other.

Accordingly, the refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant discharge chamber 13 b sequentially passes through the first space 61 of the first discharge muffler 40, the inner space 70 of the second discharge muffler 50, and the second space 62 of the first discharge muffler 40 so that the refrigerant is repeatedly diffused in each of the spaces 61, 70 and 62, and a part of the refrigerant transmitted to the first space 61 flows to the second space 62 through the communication portion 44 formed between the partition member 43′ and the first cover 42 so that the second space 62 serves both as a diffusion space and a Helmholtz's resonance space. Thereby, the discharge mufflers of this embodiment are operated in a method differing from the first embodiment, and greatly reduce the pulsating noise of the refrigerant.

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a compressor having a pair of discharge mufflers for repeatedly performing the diffusion of a refrigerant through a partition member and communication channels, thereby greatly reducing the pulsating noise of the discharged refrigerant.

Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents. 

1. A compressor having discharge mufflers comprising: a compression chamber installed in a cylinder block in an airtight container; a discharge pipe installed in the airtight container for discharging a refrigerant compressed in the compressor to the outside of the airtight container; a first discharge muffler installed between the compression chamber and the discharge pipe, and provided with an inner space divided into a first space directly communicated with the compression chamber and a second space directly communicated with the discharge pipe; and a second discharge muffler provided with an inner space communicated with the first and second spaces respectively through separate communication channels.
 2. The compressor as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first and second mufflers are installed in the cylinder block, and the communication channels are formed in the cylinder block.
 3. The compressor as set forth in claim 2, wherein the communication channels are formed by drilling the cylinder block.
 4. The compressor as set forth in claim 1, wherein a partition member for dividing the inner space of the first discharge muffler into the first and second spaces is provided in the first discharge muffler, and the first and second spaces are divided by the partition member under the condition that the first and second spaces are isolated from each other and hermetically sealed.
 5. The compressor as set forth in claim 1, wherein a partition member for dividing the inner space of the first discharge muffler into the first and second spaces is provided in the first discharge muffler, and the first and second spaces are divided by the partition member under the condition that the first and second spaces are communicated with each other.
 6. The compressor as set forth in claim 5, wherein the first discharge muffler includes a depressed cavity formed in the cylinder block, a cover for closing the depressed cavity, and the partition member installed in the depressed cavity for dividing the inner space of the first discharge muffler into the first and second spaces, and a communication portion for communicating the first and second spaces is installed between the partition member and the cover.
 7. The compressor as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first discharge muffler includes a depressed cavity formed in the cylinder block, a cover for closing the depressed cavity, and a partition member installed in the depressed cavity for dividing the inner space of the first discharge muffler into the first and second spaces, and the partition member is integrally formed with the cylinder block by cast iron. 